Debates today rage about both the delivery and funding of informational content in all of its forms. On the Internet, many content providers are moving away from their advertisement-based business models and moving towards subscription-based business models. Despite rapid advances in technology, the delivery mechanisms and methods of generating revenue for content delivered through television broadcasts have been relatively stagnant, when compared to the delivery mechanisms and methods of generating revenue for the Internet and web delivery systems. In television broadcasts, advertisers still attempt to reach users using the same techniques that they have used for decades which are the thirty and sixty second commercials interspaced throughout specific television programs. In addition to technology, the viewer is becoming increasingly sophisticated and is demanding that every second of their time, whether engaged in work or leisure pursuits, be well spent. For the vast majority of television viewers, time engaged in viewing undesired advertisements is not considered time well spent. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for preventing a television viewer from viewing unwanted commercials.
Additionally, television viewers generally do not prefer to have periods of interrupted programming or “dead air” when they are viewing a program. It would be preferable if the blocked commercial could be replaced with user-defined alternative programming.
Application Ser. No. 10/116,613, “Apparatus and Method for Blocking Television Commercials and Displaying Alternative Programming,” discloses a logical unit and a commercial blocking program in the logical unit to allow alternative viewing options so that the user may define the alternative programming to replace the unwanted commercial. The commercial blocking program breaks all incoming television signals into time, video, and audio components and is able to recognize specific commercials based on those components. Upon viewing an unwanted commercial, the user indicates that he wants to block the commercial through one of a variety of input methods. The commercial blocking program then prevents the commercial from being displayed on the user's television and causes alternative programming to be displayed instead. The user may configure the alternative programming via the alternative programming logic. The user may configure the alternative programming as a universal television channel, based on the specific commercial, based on the television station, based on the time of day, or based on an elaborate viewing hierarchy. At the end of the blocked commercial, the commercial blocking program displays the television program that was originally displayed on the user's television. Alternatively, the commercial blocking program can buffer the various television programs received from the cable provider and record segments of the cable signal based on certain keywords. The commercial blocking program searches for user defined keywords, records television programs complying with the search terms, and displays the recorded television programming stored in the memory.
Application Ser. No. 10/105,124, “Apparatus and Method of Searching for Desired Television Content, discloses an apparatus and method for allowing a user to search for specific content across many television channels in order to locate desirable television shows related to the searched content. Multiplexed cable signals flow through a logical unit which buffers text associated with the voice stream of each station via the pre-encoded closed-captioning signal or through the real-time voice translation within the logical unit. The user then enters search terms through one of a variety of different input devices. Upon entry of the search terms, the logical unit will compare the entered term with those available keywords stored in each buffer. Lexical parsing associates terms which may differ from plural to singular forms or in tense. Additionally, synonym comparisons may be made. The logical unit will return a list of matches for the search criteria and allows the user the option of going directly to the television program. The logical unit also evaluates each returned item for its relevancy to the keywords. When not in use, the logical unit maintains a quiescent but monitoring state permitting continuous creation of lexical buffers. This permits the user who turns on the television to immediately have such search terms available. Alternatively, the logic is implemented at the cable provider and enabled through interactive links to the home. In that case, the home logical unit is unnecessary.
What is needed is a combination of the blocked television commercials and the television content searching to provide a way to seek contingent programming to fill the space created by blocked commercials.